Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of cases of melanoma.

On 16 June 2014, a local pilot campaign launched in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset to raise awareness of the signs of skin cancer. It encouraged people to tell their doctor if they noticed any unusual or persistent changes to their skin. It ran until 27 July 2014 and included adverts in the press and on local radio, as well as some direct mail to the target group.

Skin Cancer awareness month is an annual awareness campaign that takes place every May. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of unprotected sun exposure and educate the public about the ways to help prevent skin cancer.

The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 came into force in April 2011 in England and Wales to prohibit under-18s from using sunbeds.

Public Health England (PHE) contributed to the revision of the World Health Organization publication “Artificial tanning devices - Public health interventions to manage sunbeds”, which was published in 2017. PHE advises that sunbeds emit ultraviolet radiation, which can cause tanning and sunburn.